Christ Is The End Time
Israel
(Israel In End Time
Prophecy)
Bible Truth Must Be Spiritually Discerned
- THE KEY POINT OF THIS CHAPTER. If the Scriptures are
spiritually discerned, then one must have the guidance of the Holy
Spirit to properly understand the scriptures concerning Israel.
- What does the Bible say?
Notice in the following text the
reason why it is essential for one to pray for the guidance of the Holy
Spirit before studying the Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 2:
- 14 But the natural
man receiveth the things of the Spirit of God for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
Not only does God give us spiritual
understanding but He also gives wisdom. With all the deceptions of
Satan blowing in all directions, one must have wisdom from God to
discern the spiritual truth.
- Proverbs 2:
- 6 For the Lord
giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding.
Natural man has trouble understanding
spiritual matters without the aid of the Spirit. Following are some
examples of natural man misunderstanding spiritual truth.
- John 2:
- 18 Then answered the Jews
and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou
doest these things?
- 19 Jesus answered
and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up.
- 20 Then said the
Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou
rear it up in three days?
- 21 But
he spake of the temple of his body.
The Jews were thinking as natural
people do and they missed the spiritual application. Jews were thinking
literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
- John 3:
- 3 Jesus answered and said
unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
- 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man
be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers
womb, and be born?
- 5 Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
- 6 That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Nicodemus was thinking as a natural
person does, and he missed the spiritual application. Nicodemus was
thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
- John 4:
- 10 Jesus answered and said
unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to
thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would
have given thee living water.
- 11
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and
the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
- 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob,
which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and
his cattle?
- 13 Jesus answered and said unto
her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
- 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life.
The woman at the well was thinking as a
natural person does and she missed the spiritual application. The woman
at the well was thinking literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual
truth.
- John 6:
- 51 I am the living bread
which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live
for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world.
- 52 The
Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give
us his flesh to eat?
- 63 It is the
spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The Jews were thinking as natural
people do and they missed the spiritual application. Jews were thinking
literal but Christ was teaching a spiritual truth.
All the spiritual examples above were
written by John. John also wrote the Book of Revelation with its
prophecies about Israel, the temple, Babylon, and Armageddon. Could it
be possible to miss a spiritual meaning because of taking Revelation
literally?
Notice the following references to John being “in the
Spirit.”
- Revelation 1:
- 10 I was in the
Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as
of a trumpet,
- Revelation 4:
- 2 And immediately
I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and
one sat on the throne.
- Revelation 17:
- 3 So he carried me
away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit
upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven
heads and ten horns.
- Revelation 21:
- 10 And he carried me
away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me
that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
If John was in the Spirit when he was
shown what to write in the book of Revelation, then doesn’t it make
good sense that one will need the Spirit’s help to understand what
he wrote? Notice what Peter wrote in the following texts:
- 2 Peter 1:
- 19 We have also a more
sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star
arise in your hearts:
- 20 Knowing this
first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
- 21 For the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
How can one receive the Holy Spirit’s help?
- Galatians 3:
- 14 That the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we
might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- Acts 2:
- 38 Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost.
- Acts 5:
- 31 Him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance
to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
- 32
And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
One receives the Spirit by faith,
repenting, being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and obeying Him.
If one is not willing to obey, following wherever God’s Spirit
leads, then apparently he or she can not expect to be lead by the Spirit
and therefore will not spiritually understand Bible truth. Does one
apply a literal or a spiritual meaning to what he or she is reading in
the Scriptures? The Spirit helps one to know which way he or she should
go. If a person wants to understand Bible truth about Israel then he or
she will need the Spirit’s guidance.
Dwight Waterhouse is the compiler of this information.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions. David Waterhouse
is the Webmaster. You can reach both of us at the same E mail
Contents
